January 17, 2011

Hello family

Okay, well I want to thank you mom and dad for your encouraging words, they really did help thank you. Well I'm not going to lie, this week was about the same as last week, numbers wise but I'm looking at it with a new perspective. I'm letting this kinda of stuff get me down. I have always tried to look at the problems of life with a smile, and I don't know why that's going to stop now? Well it's not! This is the work of the lord and he is with us!

I really have been studying a lot about the the law of consecration and what it really means. Well I have learned that its not just the complete surrender of our worldly possessions but also all your heart, all your might, mind, and strength. I have a really powerful talk by Elder Maxwell from one of the 2002 general conferences where he talked about this same subject. He says it a process that is like a path of stepping stones, meant to be taken one at a time and that the surrender of ourselves is also a victory won, being that our minds will then be able to be stretched to his understanding. So I have made it the goal that in this last 7 months of my mission nothing is going to get me down!!!! Nothing!!!! There's too little time for that, and what ever happens I will keep my hand to the plow not looking back. This is probably the only time in my life that I will hold this same calling that I have the same that Elder Ballard holds or and other members of the 12 or the 70 so I have to make it the best.

Okay so the conference with Elder Ballard was amazing!!! He just kind of talked to us, it was really cool, he also talked a lot about faith!!! It was so cool to hear an apostle talk about faith, he shared a story about when he was in Jerusalem and had just visited the Sea of Galilee with the director of the BYU center there, and on their way back they stopped on the side of the road and the director went out and picked some mustard seeds off a tree and brought them back to Elder Ballard, he said they were so tiny, and the tree they came from was huge and he said he asked himself, how much does he really have? It really was just an awesome experience to hear him talk also Elder Jay E. Jensen was there and Elder Clark they all gave really good talks also and there wives.

Well we have one family we are working with right now that's really positive, they accepted a baptismal date for the 29th so we are really happy about that.

Also that's really cool that Andrew is going to be playing rugby, I can't wait to get back and start, thanks dad for those tips I'll start with those and see what I can come up with. Mom send me some pics of Clare's wedding and tell her congrats and give her a hug for me. Well that's all I have. I love you all, thanks for everything. TE AMO MUCHO

Love , Elder Paulson